Sarah is the most creative person I know and a relentless and restless one at that. And I'm not saying this just because I'm her husband! Her creativity drives everything she does, especially her art. When paper stock colours available to her were too limited, no probs, she mixed and made her own colours and then started combining them with non-traditional materials such as vellum and mylar. I can see always see her personality in her work, like a quick wit and improvisational skills. If you were lost in the woods, she’d be the one making a flare from a flashlight battery and a pinecone. It’s sort of like living with McGyver.
– Tim Chan
The Proof
1. My latest piece is always my favourite. I just completed this one yesterday. When I make another piece that one will be my favourite.
2. My studio, which I’m lucky enough to have in the house. I’m a bit of a recluse and this suits me perfectly. This August I’m going to get it together and build actual proper paper storage so it doesn’t look so bad.
3. My desk. Much of what I do is precise and fiddly, which is funny because I tend to be a spontaneous and messy. I wash my hands so often when I’m working on a piece sometimes it feels more like surgery than art.
4. On the deck after a hard day’s work. Because I’m in the studio for 6-8 hours a day, I take my leisure very seriously. I’m in love with this book on my art hero Miguel Angel Vidal. I ordered it from France and stinks so badly of mildew it has to live in a freezer bag.
5. My collection of first editions. The number one rule is they can only cost $5. I find them in thrift stores and library sales. I particularly love detective fiction, which I think says a lot about my artwork, which is all about finding balance and resolution.
6. Our outdoor cat cage we had built. Our carpenter thought we were crazy but he really got into the project. They go down a covered walkway you can just make out on the far right, which the raccoons keep crumpling on their nightly jaunts. Inside among the catmint you can see one of our five cats, Angel, lounging in the sun. As they say, dogs have owners, cats have staff. Sadly, this is true.
7. The alley at the back of the house. Strathcona is a great neighbourhood and we’re on the less leafy border of it, just next to Hastings. We have light industry and a bit of post-midnight alley screaming, and little old Chinese ladies going through our recycling, but that’s what I love about it.
8. The secret of a happy twenty-three year relationship.
The Questions
What neighbourhood do you live in?
Strathcona, just east of Chinatown and bordering the Downtown East Side. It’s a great place to be. It’s eccentric and surprising, everywhere you look something odd or beautiful is happening.
What do you do and where?
I make abstract compositions using paper. I guess you’d call it collage, but it’s really more like constructivism. It’s hard-edged abstraction with a nod to psychedelia. From my studio I can see the Port of Vancouver, with those beautiful orange cranes against the blue mountains.
What are you working on?
I’m currently getting ready for my first solo show. I’m mounting the show myself, and it’s a lot of work! But I love the autonomy.
Where can we find your work?
You can find my work online at my site. Email me at sgee.collage@gmail.com if you want to know more!
